In a widely dominated wildlife tourism, the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) is thinking out of the box to give Ugandan tourists a huge return on their investment in the sector. This comes by as UTB is widening its normal tourism scope to encompass the less known Ugandan beauty.
UTB has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited (UEGCL) to market the 600MW Karuma Hydro Power Dam and the 183MW Isimba Hydro Power Dams as infrastructure tourism products.
Speaking at the signing, the Uganda Tourism Board CEO, Lilly Ajarova, said: “This MOU marks the beginning of an important journey for Uganda. When brought to fruition, the successful development of Karuma Hydro Power Project and Isimba Hydro Power Project into tourism sites will further diversify our tourism portfolio and, therefore, contribute to our core objectives namely, sustainably increasing the volume (numbers) and value (earnings) of tourism to Uganda and by extension, Ugandan households and livelihoods through the creation of jobs and increased tax revenue.
Speaking on behalf of UEGCL, Dr. Eng. Harrison Mutikanga commented that the MOU is in line with UEGCL’s Five Year Strategic Plan (2018 -2023) that among others, focuses on the key objective of enhancing its business portfolio.
He intimated that utilization of the vast hydropower assets as a tourism product will go a long way in unlocking the infrastructure tourism potential in Uganda. This is premised on the fact that then hydropower stations have unique features both on the surface and underground.
“As UEGCL, we pledge total commitment to the partnership,” said Mutikanga.
Tourism at hydropower sites is not new as this has been demonstrated at the Three Gorges hydropower site in China, Livingstone site in Zambia, and Niagara Falls hydropower site in Canada.
Downstream, the newly-commissioned Isimba Dam on the Nile remains popular for white water rafting and world-class competitions including the Nile Freestyle Festival that attracts the kayaking fraternity from USA, Russia, and South America as well as Europe, many of whom have trained on the Nile in preparation for the world white water rafting competitions.
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